To Be Queen
by ClosetFMAfan
Summary: Alphonse Elric only sought to get a little piece of the dreams he had before the Great War tore the world apart. Traveling to Xing to pursue a study of alkahestry, however, became much more complicated when he found himself ensnared in betrayal, politics, centuries old hatred, rebellion, and love. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Harold DeWitt knew from the time he was three years old that he was destined to be a reporter. His mother used to tell the story that when he was old enough to really understand words and what they meant, he heard his father talking about the _Eastern Herald_. He had demanded to know what the _Eastern Herald_ was, and his father had told him that it was a newspaper. Upon asking what a newspaper was, he answered that it was something that people read when they wanted to know what was happening in the world.

Then Harold had demanded to know why they had named a newspaper after him.

Everyone in the family would roar with laughter when that story was retold and Harold would grin and smile good naturedly, all the while desire curled in his chest.

As much as his family might treat it like a joke or an old story, he wanted it desperately.

Not necessarily a newspaper named after him, but what he wanted above all was to be one of the greatest reporters of all times. The kind that would search to discover the truth and uncover the hardest hitting stories. The kind that would change the world.

Unfortunately, his boss didn't exactly see that in him.

It had taken quite a bit to convince him to give him this lead. Yes, there were a lot of other reporters who had more experience than him, but he was destined to discover something as momentous as this!

The Last Empress.

There was so little known about her. Despite the fact that she lived in such a recent age, only forty-five years ago, information about her or her life was about as rare as rain in the Xerses ruins.

Anyone and everyone with information about her went missing, died, or refused to talk. Most of the historical records recording her ascension, her rule, or her displacement had been destroyed in a giant cover up. And even if there was anyone in Xing who knew anything about her, they would certainly never talk to an Amestrian like him.

Especially not about her.

It was only by a miracle that Harold had learned about the lead at all.

He had been walking by his boss's office when he heard him discussing it with one of the senior reporters. He had… he would admit it, eavesdropped, and would do it a hundred times over to have heard it.

They had discovered someone still alive, alive and living in Amestris that might have information about her. Quite a bit of information, if their sources weren't mistaken.

He had barged into the office right then and demanded to be the one to track the lead down.

His boss had been outraged and threatened to have him fired on the spot for having eavesdropped, but Harold had stood tall and told his boss that if he wasn't given the story, he would track down the source himself and sell the story to another newspaper.

The man couldn't say no.

Which was what had led him here.

It had taken a bit of digging to figure out where to find the source, but through a quite impressive if you asked him series of document searching, he found an address in a small town in the East called Resembool.

He frowned slightly when he saw the house, but shrugged and marched up to the front door and knocked on it.

He had to wait a few minutes before the door was opened.

Standing in the doorway was an older man. He stood rather tall for someone of his age, easily six foot or taller and hardly stooped at all. His hair was completely grey, but his eyes were a startling color of gold. His face was soft and warm, and the most prominent wrinkles on his face were around his eyes and mouth from smiling.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Are you Alphonse Elric?"

"I am."

"Hello. My name is Harold DeWitt. I'm a reporter for the Central Times." The man in front of him blinked.

"Oh? And what are you doing asking for me? I haven't done anything interesting in a long, long time."

Harold smiled. The man seemed very friendly.

"I beg to differ, sir. You're alchemic theories are renowned! I just want your time for a few minutes to talk about them—"

"I haven't come up with an alchemic theory in thirteen years; it's hardly something to send a reporter over now. Especially the Central Times, which hasn't cared about alchemic discoveries since Fuhrer Mustang first became the Flame Alchemist and threatened to torch any reporters who tried to get ahold of his secret. Why don't you tell me why you're really here, son." The man didn't seem angry or annoyed, instead his eyes twinkled in amusement. Harold had to admit to be impressed. This old man certainly still had his wits about him.

"I… I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to… offend you."

"It's fine, Harold. But you're going to have to use better tricks than that to get my secrets from me." Elric winked and smiled good-naturedly before inviting him into the house. Harold smiled and nodded, entering the home.

It was neatly kept. Very warm and inviting, like the man's demeanor. There was light pouring in from the windows. The furniture was all solid, but worn, as if it carried many memories.

"Do you drink tea, Harold?" he asked, back still turned. "Or are you a part of this younger generation that seems to have coffee instead of blood?"

Harold laughed. It was very easy around this man. "Tea is fine, sir."

"Very well then, I'll just serve that up real quick. Take a seat in the parlor. It'll be ready in a jiffy."

Harold nodded, doing as Elric had told him. He took a seat in one of the low Xingese styled cushions around a coffee table in the middle of the room. There were a couple of large photo albums sitting on the tables that he picked up and started flipping through.

The first few pages of the first book he picked up were full of pictures of two blond boys. Sometimes they were accompanied by an older brunet woman who was probably their mother, sometimes by a blond girl. There was even a couple with what looked like… a shriveled old hag with a pipe.

Then the pictures began to change. There was still one of the blond boys, but instead of being accompanied by his brother, he was now accompanied by a large suit of armor. Some of the pictures included men in military blues. Harold was even shocked to recognize one of the men in one of the pictures as the former Fuhrer Mustang.

Just as suddenly as the suit of armor appeared, it disappeared. In its place was a teenage boy that resembled a skeleton. The first few pictures with him in it he had long blond hair, but a few pictures later it had been cut short. The next few pages of pictures documented the skeleton boy gaining more weight and strength, before eventually looking like a younger version of the man who was in the other room preparing tea.

"Terribly interesting, isn't it?"

Harold jumped slightly.

"Excuse me, sir?" he asked, turning around with the album still in his hands.

"It's terribly interesting. Isn't it? Watching a young lad like that," Elric gestured at the pictures with a cup of tea, "turn into an old decrepit man like me."

"You're not that old, sir."

"I'm a bag of old bones. Not even alkahestry can stop the aching. It's a part of life, son. Growing old is another adventure that'll only end when a child survives by eating the food that was grown using whatever nutrients these bones can give it."

"That's very… deep, sir."

"Why thank you." He settled down on the couch and then handed Harold his cup of tea. "I hope you like jasmine."

They sat there in silence, drinking slowly as to not burn their tongues.

It was eventually Elric that broke the silence, putting his cup and it's saucer down on the coffee table.

"Now, what did you really come here to ask me about?"

Harold followed his example, and put his own cup on the table, before pulling out a notepad and pencil. His heart started pounding in his chest. This was it.

"How long did you serve as Ambassador to Xing?"

Elric blinked before frowning slightly and rubbing his chin. "Let's see, I started little less than a year after the end of the Great War, so it was fifteen years."

"You quit shortly before the death of the first President, yes?"

Elric snorted. "What a disaster that was." Harold decided not to comment.

"So you were Ambassador during the Last Empress's rule, correct?"

"Yes, yes I was."

"How much do you know about her?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than that, son," Elric said, picking up his tea cup again and staring into it. "I suppose I could tell you a lot of things about the Empress, but none of it might be anything you're interested in hearing. She would always have her tea at 2:00 whether that was in the middle of the court session or a meeting with important dignitaries. Always on the dot." He took a swig of tea, swallowed, then smiled at Harold over the rim of his cup. "But that's hardly the information you're interested, am I right?"

"Well… yes, you are right Mr. Elric. You see, we have such few records about her time on the throne. We really know next to nothing about her other than the fact that her rule led to the fall of Imperial Xing."

"So do you want me to describe her policies? The moves she made? I was there for most of it."

"Would you actually mind telling me how close you were to the Empress? There are very few people alive who know anything about her… it might be a long shot, but were you particularly close at all? In any occasions?"

"You have to understand, young man, that the Empress was rather shut off. She always felt like her position was in danger, for good reasons mind you, and let very, very few people into her close circle of friend or advisors."

"Oh…" Harold could feel his reporter career slipping out of reach. No! No!

The man shifted, before leaning forward with a twinkling in his eyes.

"It just so happens, that I was one of those few." Harold's eyes widened and his heart began to race.

"You were?"

"I was. I can honestly say that I was one of the Empress's closest friends. I visited her in prison before she died."

"Actually, I was hoping that you might be able to give me some more information about that—"

"Al?"

The old man lifted his head as Harold heard some noises from the kitchen.

"Al? Do we have company over— Oh. Oh, hello." An old woman that looked to be the same age as Mr. Elric entered the room. She was short, even for an old woman, and her long hair was still mostly black, but slightly peppered with streaks of grey. Even if Harold couldn't tell from her obvious features, her clothing gave her away as Xingese.

"Hello."

"Al, who's this?"

"This is Harold DeWitt. He's a reporter from Central Times. He's asking questions about the Last Empress." Harold glanced back at the man, whose eyes were twinkling again. The woman nodded, before sitting down next to Elric, who could only be her husband.

"Well you've come to the right place to hear about her. My husband loves sharing his stories about her. Sometimes I start thinking that I should be jealous of the way he almost seemed to worship her. Though, most people did until the Rebellion." Elric chuckled and pressed his face against the side of hers.

"Well to be fair, my dear, if it wasn't for her, we never would have gotten together." The woman rolled her eyes and shoved him slightly with her shoulder, only causing Elric to chuckle even more.

"This is… Mrs. Elric?"

"Yes," the woman said, holding out a hand for him to shake.

"Were you two married before the Fall of the Empire?"

"No, actually. We fell in love while Al was serving as an Ambassador. He left a few months before the Fall and could only get sanction to come back once the first President had been elected and Xing regained some stability. Then he smuggled me out of Xing and brought me here where we got married."

"Oh…"

"And before you get any ideas about turning us in, young man, it's not illegal to bring your girlfriend into your country if you get the leader of said country to personally approve her entrance and arrange the paperwork himself."

"Ah… well, if we still have time after this interview I'd be fascinated to hear your story further." The offer actually was genuine. It seemed like a fascinating story. While Harold's true interest was in journalism, perhaps he could even get a book written. If he published it as a novel based on a true story… there was a whole market popping up for those, he could make a fortune. "However I am here for the Last Empress…"

"Of course. What do you want to know?" A shiver on anticipation coursed through Harold's whole body. His voice was breathless when it came out.

"Anything and everything."

"Hmm. Anything and everything huh… let's see, I think I'll start at the beginning."

* * *

><p>"<em>The Philosopher's Stone. Where is it?" <em>

_The small Xingese girl held out her arms, both to balance herself and make sure that no one else started talking and broke her concentration. _

_There._

_She immediately ran for the small vial of red liquid, skidding on her knees to reach it. Her hand closed around the vial, and she thrust it into a pocket of her sash, not even checking to stare at it. She could feel the unnatural _qi_. She knew that this was legitimate. This was a Philosopher's Stone._

_And she had it._

_Then she was looking down at the scuffed shoes of King Bradely._


	2. Chapter 2

**I know most of you are probably used to me updating every single week, but that's just not going to happen with this story, I'm sorry. I have way too much going on this year (I'm applying for college, working on other stories, trying to get my book published, and for some reason in my infinite wisdom I decided that senior year would be a great year to take five AP classes and become president of a club. Not to mention that I'm really making a conscious effort to go to bed a lot earlier) to update every week. I will update at least every two weeks, unless I give you an excuse before hand. You can hold me to that. Send angry messages I don't update within two weeks, alright?**

**Other than that, I should probably warn you that this story is quite a bit of a deviation from my GFTS/ASOH/RFD stories. Just a heads up. **

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><p>Alphonse Elric woke up abruptly, heart pounding so hard in his chest it hurt.<p>

Within seconds, he was getting out of his bed and rushing across the hall, flinging the door open to find…

He let all the air leave his lungs, sinking against the door frame. Everything was alright.

He touched a hand to his chest as his heart beat slowly returned to its usual tempo, only vaguely recognizing the fact that yes, he had a heart, and yes it was beating. It had been four years since the Promised Day, so Al was mostly used to the sensation. There were moments when he really thought about how fortunate he was and how amazing it was to have a body after so long, but other than that he managed to get by without crying or laughing every time he experienced something for the first time again.

Ed snored and this time Al let himself smile.

There had been so many times the past four years that he thought— No. He couldn't think like that. Ed was here. He was alive, and even mostly intact.

"You had the same dream, didn't you?"

Al jumped a little, but almost wasn't surprised when he turned around and found Winry standing there, clutching a bath robe closed in front of her.

He didn't have to ask what dream she was talking about.

"Yeah."

"I knew that he was alright, but I just…"

"You had to see with your own eyes."

"Exactly.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Al was still concentrating on getting his heart rate back to normal. Even with the reassurance that Ed was there, the panic couldn't quite leave him.

"I'm so pathetic," Winry whispered, brushing some of her hair behind an ear. Despite the fact that she had probably just gotten out of bed, her hair was still relatively smooth. Which was odd, usually Winry had terrific bedhead.

"What are you talking about Winry? I came running over here when I woke up too."

"Not just because of that, Al," Winry whispered. "It's not just… I'm… I can't sleep most nights. I stay up for hours, just trying to find some way to get some sleep. But every time I close my eyes all I can see is that hospital. All I can see is the men and I can still hear their screams—" To Al's alarm, he noticed tears springing up in the corners of her eyes.

"Hey," he said quickly, pulling her into his arms. "You're not pathetic, Winry, not at all."

"I'm standing here crying, hardly able to sleep. How is that not pathetic? I hardly have the right to cry, especially when he's not. You're not. After everything he went through… I'm supposed to be strong for you two boys."

"You are, Winry. You always have been."

She pressed her face against his shoulder. "Then why are you the one comforting me?"

"Because I'm returning the favor. You… even when you weren't here, you were being strong for me. I could have made it through this war without knowing that you were out there helping people. Your letters helped me get through it."

"I feel like I broke out there though. How am I supposed to help you or Ed when I can't even get it together myself?"

"Winry," Al said firmly, grabbing her arms and pushing her away so he could stare directly into her eyes. "You did not break. I've seen men that broke out there. Men that can hardly even pull their lives together. They literally can't even move without being afraid of dying. You're moving on. You're picking up where you left off. You're doing something. So is Ed."

"So are you," she responded, and Al couldn't help the twinge of guilt.

"Yeah, so am I," he said softly, but then he said more firmly, "But that's a good thing. We're only broken if we can't get up and move forward. But we are moving forward. We are. Our legs are still working, so we need to use them to move forward."

Winry blinked, and then swore.

That wasn't exactly the response that Al was expecting.

"Excuse me?"

"I still haven't made the plating for Ed's new leg! I make him a perfectly good replacement for the one he lost out there, and then he goes and breaks it within the first year being home! That idiot!"

Al sighed, shook his head, then laughed.

"I think you're perfectly fine, Winry. As long as you have Ed around to beat up, you'll be just fine."

"I do not beat him up!"

Al raised an eyebrow at her, and she smiled sheepishly. "I only give him what he deserves." Al laughed again, and this time Winry joined in with him. Then Ed shifted in his bed from the other room, and the laughing intensified (if quieted).

Her smile turned tender after a bit though.

"Oh Al… What am I going to do when you're gone? What are we going to do?"

"You're going to get married and have three kids before I can come back properly," Al responded, smirking halfheartedly. That caused Winry to snort and smack him on the shoulder.

"Never mind, you can get out of here."

Al grinned.

He still wasn't quite sure how he was going to go without this. Gently bantering with his almost sister at… what time was it? Four in the morning? It seemed like as soon as he made his decision, a thousand reasons started popping up as to why he couldn't leave. It was just moments like this that he wasn't sure he'd be able to go without. Bantering with Winry in the early morning, arguing with Ed over milk (it didn't matter if he had spent years living off food a lot fouler than milk, Ed still wouldn't drink it), even just being able to see Ed sitting outside with the sun on his face, shining in his gold hair. He would miss watching the way that Ed and Winry interacted with each other. Leaving meant that he would probably miss them finally admitting to themselves and each other that they loved each other. Being away would also cut off his ability to visit his parents and Granny.

"Al? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?"

"You were staring at me funny," Winry clarified, looking at him with concern now. "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh… I was just thinking about how much I'll miss this when I'm in Xing."

"Oh."

Silence fell between them. Winry had been avoiding the topic as much as she could recently. It was almost as if she was in denial. Ed was approaching it with almost callous distance, but Winry got emotional whenever it was brought up. 'We just got back together, why do we have to be separated again?'

"You don't have to go, you know," she offered after a while of the silence.

"We've been over this, Winry," he said softly.

"I know," she said, sighing. "You feel like it's something you need to do. You need to take your own steps to get over the war, and you think going to Xing and learning more about alkahestry will help you."

"Have we really had this argument so many times that you can quote me?"

"Apparently so."

"I'm sorry, Winry."

"I know, Al."

He sighed. There really didn't seem to be a way to win. He didn't want to leave, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel drawn to Xing. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly. They had made so many friends from Xing, and they had been their allies during the war, and he had heard so much of it. His fascination and desire to learn alkahestry had never waned. He wouldn't deny that yes he wanted to see Mei — and Ling, and Lan Fan of course. He had no idea how any of them were doing. News had been more or less completely cut off.

It also just seemed like… a place where he could… not start over, but like he said, move on. Continue. He had dreamed before the war of being able to go there and study one day. Now that it was over, he felt like he almost needed to go there to move past the war. Only once he traveled and learned there would he have the proof to himself that the war really and truly was over. He also felt obligated to continue to research alkahestric applications for reversing chimeraism. Even if it wouldn't be any good to Jerso and Zampano now, he wanted to help people. He needed to.

"I'll make breakfast," he volunteered.

"Al, it's four thirty in the morning."

"Is it that late? I thought it was just barely four."

She shook her head then, after a moment's pause, shrugged. "It's not like I'll be able to get back to sleep anyways. And maybe the smell of food will get Ed up so he can get a start on the chores I have for him to do."

"And you're sure you two are getting married anytime soon?"

"Shut up, Al."

Al grinned as Winry turned on her heel and marched back to her room, probably to get dressed for the rest of the day. Even though he had just promised to go cook breakfast, Al couldn't help himself from turning around and taking a peek in the doorway to Ed's room.

The blond was still sleeping peacefully.

He took a breath and walked towards the stairs.

Breakfast wasn't going to cook itself. Especially not this early in the morning.

He started first on getting some bacon cooking. If the smell of that didn't manage to get Ed up, then nothing would. And it took longer and kept longer than the eggs. Toast was also fairly easy and quick to get ready.

Al always made sure to do his best cooking though. After the food both Winry and Ed, but Ed in particular, had to endure out there, it was his pleasure to feed them both good food. Though Winry had certainly blown them all away with her pie. Apparently some of the men in the makeshift hospitals used to all chip in to get the right ingredients for her to make one of her apple pies. According to Winry, they were better medicine than anything else they could have given them. She had seen full grown, war hardened, bloody and injured soldiers cry.

Winry joined him just as he was cracking the eggs open, dressed and hair brushed. "What do you need me to do?"

"You could start the toast," he said, smiling at her. She nodded and got to work slicing some bread.

Sure enough the smell ended up drawing Ed downstairs a couple of minutes before breakfast was ready. They ate as the sun was just breaking over the horizon.

No one said very much, but the silence was comforting. They didn't need to say anything.

"Winry." The automail mechanic looked up when Ed addressed her.

"Yes, Ed?"

He frowned, opened his mouth and then closed it, all the while starting to turn pink. "You know… You're one of the strongest people I know. No matter what happens you're always trying to help other people. And you've always tried to help me and Al."

Winry looked surprised at Ed's sudden words. Al certainly was. It wasn't like Ed to be sensitive or eloquent.

"So… you're not pathetic."

A look of understanding must have crossed both of their faces because Ed flushed an even darker color of red.

"I have trouble sleeping too. And you two aren't quiet."

Al stared at his brother, who quickly ducked his head and began shoveling more eggs into his mouth. Even after Al got his body back, despite the fact that Ed only had one body to provide nourishment for, he still ate for two. If he wasn't as active as he was he probably would have easily become fat.

"Ed…"

"What?" he snapped defensively. Al glanced at Winry, who seemed to understand exactly what he was getting at.

So when Al moved to pull his brother into a hug (eliciting a quick squawk of protest) he wasn't alone.

The sun finally rose completely in time to shine on the three wrapped in each other's embraces.

* * *

><p>Despite the fact that the war was over, the war was very much still continuing.<p>

There may have been armistice declared, but it seemed that it would never stop coming back to destroy Pang Hua's life.

That notion had never been more clear to him than as he knelt there at his parents' burial site.

He had not been there to bury him. His invalid cousin that hadn't been a part of the war had done that. He hadn't even known that they were dead.

One of the plagues that had wiped out so many following the war killed them. It seemed that so many men from all over the world camping together and then bringing back diseases had been devastating back home.

Hua wouldn't know. While his fellow soldiers had all been sent home with the Empress's blessing, he had been rotting away in a prison cell in Goddanpi.

Apparently the Goddanpiese had not taken kindly to being occupied and took it out on all of the Xingese soldiers that didn't manage to get out of the country before reinforcements from Vihayan had them overrun.

He had been whipped, beaten, nearly drowned, stabbed, and starved. He had endured torture, slept without a blanket in weather cold enough to kill a man, watched friends and comrades die, and dreamed of rescue that seemed certain to never come.

Then it had.

He had been told upon arriving back in Xing that he was a hero that had fought and suffered for his Empress and country.

Pang Hua stood up.

A hero, they called him. A pride to the nation.

Words.


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been two weeks and the only review I've gotten is the one I made to check and see if my review function wasn't working or something. If I had only gotten one or two reviews I would have been sad, but no reviews whatsoever after getting 8 on the first chapter makes me think there's something going on. If this is some sort of review boycott or strike or something, it would work a lot better if I knew what you were boycotting about… because right now it's only accomplishing making me depressed… so…**

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><p>"Well… this is it."<p>

Winry took a deep breath, then nodded. "Stay safe, Al. It'd really be a shame for all of us to go through so much only for you to get into some trouble in Xing and end up getting yourself injured."

Al gave her a weak smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. It was always Ed that got into trouble, not me, thank you very much. I was the one that was always getting him out of it."

Ed, who was standing with his hands in his pockets, back straight and staring ahead, smirked. "Don't know how I'm going to get out of any trouble without you, Al."

"You're just going to have to stay out of it."

Ed laughed, causing Winry to frown. "Edward Elric, you should listen to him! Why is it that Al always has to act like the older one!"

"He likes it, Win, I'm just letting him do what he wants."

The mechanic leveled a glare in Ed's direction so fierce, Al was partially surprised her ever present wrench didn't make a new permanent lodging in Ed's skull.

"Geeze, woman, I'm joking," he said quickly, throwing his hands up, causing Al to laugh. The glare didn't disappear.

"I am going to check on when the train is supposed to leave," she announced haughtily, turning around on one heel and marching in the other direction. Both Elrics watched her go, Al with a grin on his face and Ed with apprehension.

"She's going to actually kill me with that wrench of hers one of these days," Ed said once he was sure she was out of earshot.

Then again, earshot was a lot shorter distance when standing in the midst of one of the busiest train stations in all of Amestris. East City's Grand Central Station was the only city in the entire country where you could take a train to Xing. The international railroad was actually built as a war effort in an attempt to allow communication between the two nations to actually exist. It had been used mostly for transporting weapons and food back and forth, though.

Now it was being used to transport visitors.

Including Al.

"Al." Al looked away from the crowds Winry had disappeared into at the sound of his brother's voice. It had lost all annoyance or joking. His eyebrows were pressed together and, probably not knowing what else to do, he placed a hand on Al's shoulder.

"What is it, Brother?"

"I know you've got to do this. I understand that."

"Thanks Ed…"

"But… be careful, alright? And I don't just mean stay out of street fights, I mean watch yourself. People… change. I've seen good men become monsters. I… I nearly became one myself."

"Ed…"

The blond shook his head, slightly begging Al not to interrupt. "Xing is a dangerous place, Al. Ling and Mei were about ready to kill each other and we know the rest of their siblings were prepared to do the same or worse. And you're going to be right in the middle of it at the palace. Just don't lose yourself out there, alright?"

"I won't, Brother," Al promised sincerely. Ed nodded, then unexpectedly pulled Al into a tight hug.

"We've been through a lot, Brother," Al muttered, hugging back just as tightly.

"We have. And we've always managed to beat it."

"We're Elrics. That's what we do." Ed pulled away and grinned.

"You bet. Just hurry up, learn alkahestry, and come home, alright? Then we can be together again."

"I'll try, Brother. But you've got to promise me that you'll finally stop being prideful and ask Winry to marry you. She's just about the only person who's willing to put up with you, and I want nieces and nephews!"

"Al!"

"Seriously though, Brother," Al said after smiling at how flustered he managed to make Ed. "Winry deserves it. She's waited and worried for you all these years… she loves you. And you love her. So do both of you a favor and admit it."

Still red enough to look like someone had thrown an overripe tomato at his face, Ed nodded.

"Al! Get on right now!"

Al spun around in time to see Winry running towards them before he heard the whoosh of steam that signaled the fact that the train was taking off. His heart jumped into his throat and he lurched forward automatically. Thank goodness that he and Ed had had to jump onto more than a couple of trains in his life time. He had to push a few people out of the way, but managed to get a foot on the bottom step and a hand on the handle the conductor usually hung off of.

He turned around just in time to wave at Winry and Ed before the steam obscured his view.

"Do you have a ticket, son?"

Al turned around to face an amused conductor. He grinned sheepishly, but the man smiled back at him.

"Sorry." He dug around in his coat, before finally finding the right slip of paper and holding it out to the man. "One ticket to Xing."

* * *

><p>When he had been making his plans to come to Xing, Al had spent hours staring at maps of Xing and the railroad system there. There were a couple of things he knew that he needed to get done before getting to the capital and beginning his alkahestry studies. And this was one trip he knew he had to make.<p>

The trip from the train station was a quick one. Since it was the first stop in Xing after a two day train ride, there was always a steady business of men ready to carry tourists and visitors around the city, taking them to see sights or somewhere they could stay for a night before the next train left.

It was during that short ride in the back of a man's horse drawn cart that Al realized just how little Xingese he actually knew. Luckily enough, the man spoke rudimentary Amestrian so they managed to communicate enough to get Al to where he wanted to be.

The man navigated through several areas that looked abnormally bare, but from Al managed to understand from the driver's broken Amestrian and his little knowledge of Xingese was that a two decades ago the entire area had been the green beacon that led wanderers in the desert home. After the industrial boom, though, most of the trees had been cut down. Then once the coal deposits had been found, the incentive to grow them back more or less disappeared.

Trees finally began to pop up again though, the further they got from the city. In fact it was only after they turned a corner and passed the line of trees that Al was able to see the… palace in front of him. He couldn't think of any other word for the sweeping buildings and majesty of the architecture in front of him. His jaw dropped slightly, but then morphed into a smile when he saw who it was standing outside the tall gates that surrounded the palace.

He let out a whoop and waved which caused his welcoming committee to grin and wave back.

"Al!" the Xingese Prince called out happily when he caught sight of his old friend. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Al grinned even wider and waited for the cart to stop before hopping out and moving forward to hug the Prince, who didn't look like he had changed a day except for a slightly stronger looking jaw and closed tunic. "Hey, Ling. You look good."

"I look good?" Ling asked, throwing his eyebrows up. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't stand up without help. A strong breeze would have broken your arm! Now look at you, are you taller than Ed now?"

"Barely, but yeah. The doctors said that my growth spurt was delayed because of malnutrition, but I've grown almost a foot since coming back from the Gate."

"That's amazing, Al," he said sincerely. "I'm happy for you." Then he turned to the man who was driving the cart and began speaking to him in rapid Xingese that Al couldn't follow. The driver's eyebrows rose, before he bowed his head deeply and muttered a phrase Al recognized as 'Thank you'.

"What did you say to him?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just offered to pay him for you."

"Oh, no, really Ling, I have money—"

"No, consider it me paying you back for all the food of yours I ate." Al flushed a little pink at the grin on Ling's face.

"It all went on Brother's bill…"

"Then tell the pipsqueak I don't owe him anything," he dismissed quickly, waving a hand. Then he used the same hand to clap Al on the shoulder, leading him through the imposing gate into a large courtyard.

"I'm doing well, since you asked." Al flushed again. "I never thought I'd be happy not being Emperor, but it's really not that bad. I don't have to deal with courtiers all the time. I get to stay home here in the Yao providence." To Al's surprise, Ling did not lead him towards the front door, but instead to the right where there was a lovely garden. Al couldn't help taking a deep breath, filling his nostrils with all different sort of wonderful smells. "And the best news of all," Ling continued as he lead him towards a certain tree that a certain person was sitting under. "I got to marry whomever I wanted."

"Lan Fan?"

"Alphonse," the ex-guard said, standing up and attempting to bow, but being quite unable due to the swollen nature of her stomach.

"You're pregnant?" She nodded, smiling slightly. Ling moved over to her and wrapped his free arm around her, laying his hand on the baby bump.

"Five months," he told Al, all the while kissing Lan Fan on the cheek. "We got married a little after the war, as soon as the Empress made the decree."

"What decree?"

"Well, as a female, she can't very well have 50 direct heirs," Ling explained, still holding onto his wife. "So instead of baring and birthing 50 children, she decreed that each of her half siblings will bear a child to be her heir from that clan. Fu will be the Yao clan's heir."

"Fu?"

"If it's a boy," Lan Fan said. "We haven't decided on a name for a girl."

"I want to name her Lan Fan, but Lanny refuses. But the thing about the decree was that the Empress never specified who the mother of the heir had to be. So I was perfectly able to marry Lan Fan... The woman I love." Lan Fan blushed slightly, but looked down so that it was harder to tell.

"I'm happy for you two," Al said, grinning. "Really, that's amazing!"

"What about Ed and Winry?"

"Still denying the fact that they're in love. I was really hoping that they'd manage to get together before I left, but it didn't happen."

"Those two need to get a move on."

"Yeah," Al agreed, grinning once again. "Some people want to be Uncles!" Ling laughed and Lan Fan managed a smile. "Really though, I'm not worried. They just need a bit of time. Neither of them are really quite… over the war. I mean, Winry was treating men straight from the front lines. And Ed wasn't even on the front lines, he was behind enemy lines. They've both… they both need a little time. Like I said, they're not quite over it yet."

Ling's face was completely sober now. "I don't think anyone is."

"It changed everything."

"It did. And Al, while we're talking about it… I'm guessing you're heading to the capital, right?"

"I was hoping to stay here for a few days if you'll let me, but yes."

"Of course you can stay with us, Al," Ling said quickly with a grin, before it disappeared. "But… while you're in the capital, I'd suggest being careful."

"What do you mean?"

Ling glanced at Lan Fan "A lot of the Xingese aren't very happy with the surrender. They felt like we could have won in the East if we had kept fighting and that Amestris twisted our arm into surrendering. They're humiliated. And war in general always makes people upset; it makes things unsteady. I'm not saying that there's anything going on in particular you need to avoid entanglement in… just be careful."

"I will," Al promised. The more people seemed to tell him about this country the more apprehensive he got. What would his time be like here if he was always trying to avoid corrupting politics and looking out for… for what? Revolutions?

"But definitely try the food. Check for poison first, but try the food. It is so good!"

The unexpected comment forced Al to laugh.

* * *

><p>He stayed with Ling and Lan Fan for several days, almost an entire week, actually. It was thoroughly enjoyable. After four years apart and so much change each, it was nice to catch up. Al described the regimen he put himself on to return his body to normal strength and in turn Ling described the types of responsibilities that he had now in the Yao clan. He was, technically, the highest representative to the Empress for the clan, even though he had spent a grand total of three individual weeks at court.<p>

Eventually the time had to end though, and almost far too soon Al was getting on a train and heading away from the Yao Providence for the capital.

The train ride from Weiwu to Chengshi was actually longer than it took to cross the desert, so Al stopped in two different cities along the way to stay the night while getting there. Already he was starting to pick up more of the language than he had when he first arrived. The necessity and some of the pointers that Ling gave him seemed to work together to improve his abilities quite well.

Chengshi was easily one of the most impressive cities Al had ever been in. It was just so vibrant and busy… he could spend a year wandering the streets and still find new things to see and foods to try and people to talk to... And that was even without the palace itself dominating the city from the hill above. It was impossible to miss, and almost as intimidating at the military headquarters stations in the middle of Central. Though a very different style. The palace took much more after the style of the Yao's residence… only a lot bigger.

After about an hour of pushing his way through crowds and simultaneously trying not to buy anything and still take everything in (a near impossible task), Al managed to get to the top of the hill and approach the palace. It was there where he was then forced to wait for another half hour while the guards standing outside the gates glared at him until a messenger ran back towards them with the information that an Amestrian Ambassador was indeed supposed to be there and allowed in.

The boy (he looked like was maybe twelve or thirteen years old) lead him through the hallways until they finally approached a pair of doors that greatly resembled the entrance doors.

"What are we doing here?" Al asked the boy in the best Xingese he could manage. The boy stared back at him evenly.

"The Empress said you were supposed to come and be presented in front of the court."

Al's heartbeat skyrocketed. "What? In front of the entire court? Right now? But I just got here!"

"She said now."

Then the doors opened and the boy none too subtly pushed Al forward into the room.

The room, which had to be the throne room, was huge. A single aisle extended down the middle of the room until reaching a raised platform on which the Empress sat. On either side of the aisle were raised platforms on which a couple of dozen people sat each. They were all staring at him, as well as the group of six or seven men that were seated to the right of the throne. Last time Al had been the center of attention like this, he had been physically incapable of blushing.

Despite the red color of his cheeks, he walked down the aisle until finally reaching a distance from the throne he thought was appropriate. He, not sure what else to do, knelt down and touched his head to his knee.

"Ambassador Elric," the Empress said in Amestrian, and despite Al's nervousness he smiled at the sound of her voice, especially at the language in which he heard it in. He really did not want to embarrass himself by using horrible Xingese in front of the entire court. "I trust that everything went well on your journey here."

He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Everything was splendid, thank you for asking Your Highness."

"I'm glad. You may rise." Al straightened into a standing position and couldn't help but a small grin at her familiar face. It had changed the past four years. It was different. Skinnier. More matured. "It is an honor to have you here, Ambassador."

"The honor is all mine, Empress Chang."


	4. Chapter 4

**Art cred for this story's cover photo goes to arl-phonse. I requested that picture back when I knew that I was going to write this story, but RFD was still going. Link on my profile.**

* * *

><p>A sudden squeak echoed around the currently silent hall. Al blinked, confused as to what was going on, when a small white streak came running at him. For a few seconds a knee-jerk reaction, he almost thought he was being attacked. Then the small bear-cat leapt from the ground and attached itself to his shirt.<p>

"She has not forgotten you, apparently," Mei said, smiling slightly. Al glanced up at her before looking back down and picking the creature off his chest.

"Hello, Xiao Mei," he said, smiling himself now. "It's good to see you too."

She almost seemed to grin at him as he lifted her up so that she could perch on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath, then looked back up at the Empress. She really did look quite impressive. The last time that Al had seen Mei, she had been a small 12 year old girl with blood stained pink clothes. Now at 16 she had matured quite a bit. Not only was her face now more narrow, but she seemed taller and had obviously begun to develop more of a shape. Ed's familiar insult of bean girl hardly seemed to apply anymore.

The outfit was nothing short of regal, all different shades of red with gold accents and streaks. The easily most impressive part of the entire outfit though was the crown that sat on her head. The entire apparatus seemed to double the size of her head. The color betrayed it as gold, and Al wouldn't doubt if it was near pure. He wasn't quite sure how she was able to keep her head up, let alone as straight as she was.

"How are you Mei—" he began to ask, but she cut him off before he could even fully say her name.

"Do you have a message for me from the Fuhrer?"

He blinked. "Oh, right! Yes! I do." He cleared his throat, but once again he was cut off.

"Your Majesty," one of the members of the court lining the room said, standing up. To Al's horror the man was speaking Xingese. "With all due respect to Your Highness, must we belittle these ancient and nobles halls with the tongue of foreigners? Some of us cannot speak their accursed language."

"I know for a fact you speak their accursed tongue, as you so call it," Mei responded in Amestrian, something that Al was sure had to be an insult. "After all, it was you that referred to me using its more foul terms until learning that that a brat from the Chang clan would indeed know how to speak it. Besides, wouldn't you consider it similar insult to have him pollute our halls with his butchered version?"

Al winced.

"… Of course, Your Majesty," the man said, smiling so thinly the lines of his lips could have rivaled that of a spider web thread.

"Now, Ambassador, your message?"

"Only this, Your Majesty," Al said, clearing his throat and speaking as loudly and clearly as he could. "That Fuhrer Mustang hopes that you will accept me in your halls as his representative, and that our prospering relationship may continue for many years to come."

"His hopes are recognized. Ambassador, you are of course welcome to reside here as a guest from Amestris."

"Thank you."

"If you wish to familiarize yourself with our customs—"

"I would like that very much."

There was dead silence in the hall following Al's interruption. His eyes widened and he began to turn slightly red, especially when whispering began to break out to break the silence. Mei had blinked, and underneath the makeup brushed across her cheeks, Al could tell that they were reddening slightly.

"Your Majesty," one of the men sitting to the right of Mei hissed, his voice somehow cutting through the whisperings.

"He is unaware, Lien-ti. Ambassador, for your own future reference, it is a capital offence to interrupt the Empress while she is speaking. There will be no punishment on account of your ignorance, but in the future you would do well to hold your tongue."

Al swallowed hard, then nodded.

"Thank you. I will."

"Perhaps your familiarization with our customs should begin sooner than you originally thought."

He managed to smile at the dry comment, even though his cheeks were still burning.

"Hai, are there any more requests today?"

"No, Your Majesty. Do you wish to retire?"

"As long as there are no more requests you wish to bring before me, yes." She locked eyes with the rest of the room, seeming to stare each one of them down. When no one spoke, she nodded.

"Very well, you are all dismissed."

With that, she stood, and swept her way off the throne and down the center of the aisle. Al barely caught her whisper to meet her in her private reception chambers as soon as possible as she brushed past him. Xiao Mei unceremoniously jumped off his shoulder and scurried after her master.

He was more or less left standing there gapping after her as the court gradually began to file from their seats, whispering amongst themselves. The conversations were all in Xingese, so Al couldn't understand more than a few words in most of them.

"Ambassador."

He turned when he heard the Amestrian. A Xingese man stood there, smiling hesitantly. It looked like he wasn't that much older than Al, only a few years at most. Other than that, his only distinguishing feature had to be his white trimmed, black outfit. All of the other noblemen and courtiers were wearing wide arrays of colors, but he was staunchly black and white.

Al sank into a bow at the waist, which was quickly mirrored by the Xingeseman.

"Ambassador, it is so nice to meet you." His Amestrian was halted and accented, but Al could easily understand him.

"Thank you," he responded automatically in his own language.

"I have wanted to meet an Amestrian for some time now."

"Really?" Al asked, frowning. He had gotten the impression that he wasn't too popular around here from the looks most of the Xingese kept giving him.

"Yes!" the man said eagerly. "My father served in the war. Not as a soldier, obviously, but he got to meet several Amestrians. The stories he told me about your people I have always wanted to see for myself."

"… you mean you want to know whether we're actually as weird as your father made us sound?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. The Xingeseman flushed.

"I did not mean to…" he muttered a quick phrase in Xingese before his eyes lit up. "Offend. I did not mean to offend you, Ambassador. I… I just wanted to… perhaps if you want someone to teach you some of the customs of Xing? I would be willing to help."

Al hesitated, not quite sure if he wanted to take the offer from someone who seemed to view Amestrians as little more than an oddity, but he took a glance around first. Most of the people who were looking his way instead of walking past him with their noses up looked mildly offended just by his presence. Or maybe he was supposed to be doing something he wasn't, or he wasn't doing something he should have.

He could endure this man's amusement. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with people's curiosity before. Apparently having blond hair in Xing was about equivalent to a seven foot tall suit of armor in Amestris.

"Thank you very much. I would appreciate that."

The man's eyes lit up. "Thank you. Or… You are welcome."

Al smiled a bit. "Maybe in return I can help you with your Amestrian. And teach you a few of our customs."

"Yes! Yes! I would like that very much."

"Well here's one right now," Al said, his smile growing. "Usually when Amestrians make a deal, they shake hands." He held out his right hand and gestured for the man to extend his own. Then he grabbed the appendage, shaking it up and a down firmly. A silly little grin crossed the Xingeseman's face at the gesture.

"Now we've made the deal."

"Yes. Now we have made the deal."

"And what is your name?"

The man blinked at him before turning red himself. "I am sorry, Ambassador. My name is Fei Qing."

"It's nice to meet you Fei Qing. Please, call me Al."

* * *

><p>When Al finally managed to find the Empress's private receiving chambers, he was forced to wait outside for several minutes while the checked to see if he really was expected. Then he had to endure several minutes while they patted him down to make sure he wasn't carrying any weapons or poisons in to see her.<p>

The room was quite large, probably large enough to host a party rather than just a few private guests. There were probably enough chairs and cushions to host a party as well. But seated in the center of it all at a table that seemed rather low to Al, was the person he really want to see.

"Ambassador," she said politely, smiling. He took that as a sign that he was allowed to approach, so he pulled one of the cushions over to sit across from her.

"Mei. How are you?"

She didn't answer for a moment, instead pouring steaming tea into a dainty china cup and pushing it towards him. Her mouth was held together tightly and her brow was folded thoughtfully.

"Ambassador, I know that we knew each other before." Knew each other? That seemed almost cold to Al. She couldn't at least say that they had been friends? She had had a major crush on him, he had saved her life at least two times, she had helped him commit suicide… Saying that 'they knew each other' seemed like a vast understatement.

"But considering the circumstances, I feel like it would be best if you were to call me Empress instead of by my given name. Though I personally do not object to you using it, others will and if you get used to calling me Mei at all, there is a higher chance of you slipping."

"Oh…"

She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I wish we could talk to each other as Al and Mei, but unfortunately circumstance… well, it just doesn't allow it. How is everyone?"

"They're all fine," he said, unenthusiastically. Then he forced a smile a smile on his face. "Fuhrer Mustang is obviously Fuhrer. One of the stipulations of the surrender with Drachma was that General Amrstrong was no longer allowed to be a part of the military, so when Fuhrer Grumman died just after the war, he got the position. There are a lot of other people who wanted it, but everyone knew that the Colonel was the best choice. Lieutenant Hawkeye is serving as his personal assistant and bodyguard. She's happy there."

"And she hasn't had any more complications with her neck?"

"No," he answered, finally reaching out for the tea cup that Mei— the Empress had offered him earlier. "It's perfectly fine. She was in the hospital for a week or two, but it healed up fine. Of course it wouldn't have healed at all without you."

She smiled again. Al noticed that she wasn't drinking any tea herself.

"Ed and Winry are both fine. I wanted them to get married before I left, but that didn't happen."

"I heard that Ed was turned into quite the propaganda campaign." Al snorted.

"Yeah. The Fullmetal Alchemist. He was like a circus monkey until Mustang finally convinced them that he could do more good boosting moral by going behind enemy lines. Even though it was a lot more dangerous, I think Ed liked it better. It was about that time though that Winry decided she had to be a doctor to treat the wounded. Neither Ed nor I wanted her to do it since that's what her parents were doing when they died, but she wouldn't take no for an answer."

"And what about you?" she inquired while Al took a sip of his tea. He was sure it was very good, but right now it was so hot that he could hardly taste the flavor.

"I helped out in a factory."

"You weren't fighting?"

"No," Al admitted, pushing the cup away from him slightly. Too hot. He hoped that that wasn't offensive too. "That was part of Ed's agreement with Mustang. Ed played monkey, and I stayed out of the war completely. It wasn't that hard, what with my medical history."

"Do you know what happened to Mr. Scar?"

"I don't," he had to confess. "The Ishvalan community was really split over the war. Some of them wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with it and let Amestrians kill themselves. Others wanted to help out to prove that they were ready to be allies rather than combatants. As far as I know Scar was advocating staying out of the war so that their people could have a break from the hatred that war spawns."

"Mr. Yoki?"

"I have no idea," Al said, laughing. "As far as I know he's probably still out there trying to convince people that he's got a heart of gold while's he trying to swindle your pocket book."

She smiled back at him, but didn't inquire about anything else so silence fell between them.

"Why did you not pour yourself any tea?" he asked to break it.

"Hmm? Oh, too much opportunity for assassination," she dismissed with a slight wave of her hand. "What are your plans while you're here in Xing? I have a hard time believing that Fuhrer Mustang just decided to pick you for the post of Ambassador."

Al didn't answer right away, still staring at her. 'Too much opportunity for assassination'? With tea that she prepared herself?

"I was hoping that I would be able to study the culture. I was really interested to see if I could learn alkahestry while I'm here."

"I'm sure I could find a teacher that would be willing to take you on. You could try to travel to my teacher, Master Hishu. He's one of the best alkahestrists in Xing, but there is no way to get to his home without traveling for a week on bad roads. And he wouldn't tolerate you leaving all the time to deal with Ambassador duties, nor would he come here to teach you. There are several alkahestrists employed here at the palace, but I could not take them away from their employment here to teach you."

"Is there anyone in the surrounding area that I could contact?"

The Empress paused, placing a single hand underneath her chin. The voluminous red sleeve fell so that her forearm was exposed.

"Hmm. Perhaps I would be able to contact my grandfather in the Chang Providence. I was told that my second cousin Rikui has become quite proficient. She has been asking for some time now to come to court. Perhaps this is her chance. I'll contact him and see whether or not she would be willing."

"Thank you, thank you very much."

"You're welcome. Perhaps she will have success where I could not."

Al grinned at the mention of the snow dusted shack. "Omph, right?" he said, grinning and gesturing to his temples. She smiled back at him.


	5. Chapter 5

The girl had the features that Al was becoming so familiar with. Dark hair and eyes. He could recognize her relation to Me- The Empress though. They had the same round face shape and large eyes, but while the Empress (even after having grown so much the past four years) was at least two or three heads shorter than him, she looked only a head below his height. Her pulled back hair only managed to reach mid back though, whereas the Empress's probably could have easily reached her knees if she let it all down.

"Ambassador," the Empress said calmly when he entered. He bowed deeply, as he had quickly learned was expected upon meeting with the Empress. Not that he met with the Empress very often, in fact this was only the third time in the entire two months he had been here. The time he had met with her after first arriving, once two weeks ago when she told him that his teacher would be arriving in two weeks, and then once now.

The girl stood up from the table she was sitting at and bowed to him, so he repeated the gesture, making sure to bow deep enough to show his respect to a teacher. It had taken Fei Qing hours to get him to recognize the proper depths of bows for different honors.

She flushed when he did so.

"Hi, my name is Alphonse Elric," he said as he walked closer to her.

The girl glanced at the Empress, who nodded. "It is nice to meet you, Ambassador. My name is Rikui Chang." Her voice was differently accented than the Xingese Al was used to. Mei had probably had more time to adjust or lose her accent. He had never really heard her speak Xingese before coming here.

"Are you going to be my teacher?"

"That is what the Empress wishes." He smiled, though something in his stomach died.

"Rikui has agreed to come and teach you at my request, Ambassador. She is quite a good alkahestrist herself, one of many that learned the art during the war. She will teach you well."

He nodded and smiled again.

"I will check up on your lessons if my schedule ever allows it. Not that I don't trust you, Rikui, but since I am personally sponsoring the Ambassador's lessons, it would be good for me to know where he stands. No foreigner has ever been taught the Dragon's Art. Do not make me regret my decision to trust you, Ambassador."

Al promised that he wouldn't, bowing and thanking her again.

"You may go."

He bowed again, before backing up a few feet, then turning around and walking out. He was surprised to notice that Rikui left with him. As the door closed behind them, he wondered whether or not she was planning on starting their lessons now.

She didn't seem to have a notion of starting lessons though, because she crossed to the adjacent wall, turned around and grinned at him.

"I am so glad to get out of that room."

"I'm… sorry?"

She grinned at him. "Mei was always my favorite cousin, but all the "Your Highness"s and bowing and smiling and asking for her permission to sip my tea? It's annoying. I thought protocol back home in Qianxun was an ordeal, but this puts it all to shame."

The corner of his mouth twitched up. It was like she was reading his mind of the past two months.

"I feel like I'm in over my head with all of these formalities," he admitted, causing her to nod and smile.

"No kidding." She bit her lip, then seemed to make some sort of decision. "Are you… Are you related to Edward Elric?"

He blinked. She didn't know? "Yes, he's my brother."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh." The size of her grin increased. "And… are you aware that the mighty Empress of Xing, Daughter of the Morning, used to be in love your brother? I probably know more about him than you do, I heard so much about him. Edward Elric, the People's Alchemist with golden hair."

"I did actually," he responded, smiling back. "She was quite disappointed when she found out what he was really like. Started blowing things up… literally."

The news that her cousin had started blowing things up did not seem to alarm or surprise Rikui at all. She fixated on a different part of Al's statement. "And what is he actually like?"

"Short," Al said, now grinning. If Ed heard him saying that, he would probably earn himself a week or two in the hospital. "With an even shorter temper."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. She called him a rice-grain boy and he started blowing things up too. There was just a lot of blowing things up going on in that first meeting. Well, technically it wasn't the first meeting. The first time I met her, she kicked me into a train, jumped on Brother's face – she didn't know that he was who he was – and then blew things up aiding in the escape of a murder."

Rikui gaped at him, and Al couldn't help grinning. "I'm guessing she hasn't had time to explain the story to you?"

"No…That was the first time I've had a conversation with her since she came back from Amestris..." she responded, jaw still lax. "I… what?"

Al chuckled. "It's a really long story."

"I've got time. After all… I'm here for you." The response made him blink, then turn pink. She flushed too when she saw the color in his cheeks.

"I- I mean… There reason I'm here is to teach you alkahestry, so I really don't… I mean I can make time for you, or… I can listen to your story because I have time because I don't have to do anything here except you… I mean teach you. I mean…"

"No, no, no! It's alright, I get what you mean." She rubbed the back of her neck, still red.

"So… Um… So, the first time I met Mei… the Empress—"

* * *

><p>"I don't understand."<p>

The man sitting across from him lacked any signs of sympathy, despite the repeated utterance of 'I'm sorry'.

"The position has already been filled. We can only take on so many workers, or else everyone will be paid so little everyone will starve."

"I was promised this job," Hua said slowly as he fought to keep his voice level. "Your boss promised me the position, said that I earned it with my service in the army."

"Everyone fought in the army, son," the unsympathetic man said, not even looking at him as he flipped through a few papers.

"Not everyone was a prisoner of war in Gondappi for two years," he snapped, before putting a leash on his anger with a deep breath. "You called me a hero… why will you now not let me work. I am willing to. What if I… I will work for less. I will take the lowered wage. I need work, if I do not get it I will starve."

This seemed to give the other man pause. Or at least it made him stop shuffling his papers.

"A lowered wage…"

Hua jumped on the lifeline this man seemed to be offering. "Yes. A lowered wage. I need this work, please."

A few seconds pause. Then finally: "No, I'm afraid not. It is simply impossible."

Hua gaped at the man as he picked up his papers again.

"But… please you do not understand—"

"I understand perfectly. The position has already been filled. It is impossible. Now leave."

"But I need this work, please, I have tried everywhere else—"

"I am sorry. Please leave now."

"I will not leave until I have a job!"

The man stood up abruptly. "I will give you one last chance to leave, now before I have you dragged out of here by your ankles! Leave, you worthless scum!"

The sound of something snapping was almost audible.

He threw himself across the room without even stopping to think about the consequences of his actions. All he could remember was the men who would stand there, kicking him again and again, calling him scum and other far worse terms. How much he hated them. How much he wanted to destroy them.

The man fought, he really did. But against Hua's mindless rage and extensive training, he was helpless.

"Call me scum one more time," he shouted after the man finally fell to the floor, sinking his foot into his stomach. "Say it! Say it!"

"Mercy!"

"Say it!"

"Save me!"

Hua's foot froze an inch away from the man as he breathed in one, then another sharp breath.

"Why? Who?"

"Have mercy…"

"Who!"

"Chang," the man moaned, almost crying. "Tiang Lau. Chang clan. Chang."

"What is he? Who is he? Why!"

"Chang. He's Chang," the man repeated as if that made perfect sense.

And it did.

Pan Hua stepped out from the building a few minutes later, pulling his hat on low over his face. If no one saw him leaving, hopefully no one would be able to connect him to what had happened here. No one could. He couldn't let that happen.

* * *

><p>From the very moment Al began his tutelage under Rikui, he was confused. The very concept of <em>qi<em> was so foreign that he couldn't even wrap his head around it. It was like she was expecting him to all of a sudden develop another sense organ. Which was almost exactly what she wanted him to do. _Qi_ was almost like an entirely new sense that he had yet to be able to… well, sense.

She told him to have patience, and he tried. But he really did hope that after the four or five months that they had been working on it, he would be able to understand that at least.

Even if his alkahestry studies weren't progressing as much as Al had hoped, he couldn't deny that he was learning at a near exponential rate. Every new thing he learned sparked something new to learn and explore. Fei Qing was a huge help in explaining all of the different customs. They had even taken quite a few trips out together into the capital to explore. Fei confessed to Al that he had never really been in the city much other than the palace.

He learned the language, the cuisine, how to eat with chopsticks, what make him sick, what parts of the city he needed to keep a hand on his wallet, where he could expect to be bowed to and where he was expected to bow.

The only time he left the city was when his alkahestry lessons took him up into the mountains. Rikui claimed that it would help him clear his mind. There was enough life in the forests on the mountains surrounding the capital to be able to develop his sense of _qi_, but not so much that he would feel overwhelmed or stressed like if he learned in the midst of the city. In fact, that many people all in one area if anything probably blocked his ability to access the Dragon's Pulse.

"It's the flow of the life around you, you just have to—"

"I just have to tap into the flow and read it. I am a part of it, as well as the smallest ant. The patterns are there, I just have to recognize it."

Rikui pursed her lips. "Al. I'm just trying to help."

"I know," he said, sighing. "You're just trying to help me understand, but I'm just not getting it. Do you think that maybe you have to learn how to sense it when you're young, or you can't develop the skill?" Everyone he had ever met who was able to understand the mystical property seemed to have been taught to sense it since they were children. The Empress hadn't been able to explain it to him because it had always been a part of her; trying to get him to understand it had been like trying to explain sight to a blind man.

She hesitated, before shaking her head. "No, I'm pretty sure that anyone can learn to read the Dragon's Pulse. It's a part of life, of living. Being alive. How could anyone not learn how to feel that?"

"I don't know, I seem to be doing a pretty good job of it," he remarked dully.

"You just need to let yourself relax. It's there to be felt. Now close your eyes."

He did so, taking a deep breath in and slowly releasing it.

"Reach into the earth. Feel it. Embrace it."

Well at least she didn't point at her temples and go "And there. I feel it."

All the same, he let himself relax.

The thoughts he turned to though were not those of mystical energy and life force though, but that of his brother and (he had to grin at the thought) his fiancé. Al had gotten the letter from Ed that morning. They were finally going to get married. And then once they were married, knowing those two, he'd probably be an Uncle in no time. Just imagine, Ed and Winry's offspring…

Ed and Winry together creating a life. Al's little niece or nephew. Just a collection of chemicals and energy, but so much more than that.

One is All, All is One.

He noticed the light slowly. Or at least he thought it was a light. It certainly seemed to have a brighter quality about it. At first he thought that the sun had shifted out from behind some clouds, but then wouldn't the light look red from behind his eyelids?

He focused more on the… light? Pinprick? It wasn't quite warmth either.

And then there. Right next to it, another one. Brighter, but not quite as warm. Or smooth. Or electric? He couldn't quite explain…

He opened his eyes, expecting to see some sort of light or maybe the sun starting to shine through the branches (a sign that it was time to start heading back to the palace), but all he saw was Rikui standing next to a large tree.


	6. Chapter 6

**Can I just call this my miracle chapter? I started it way too late, but somehow I still managed to fit everything I needed into it, still make it long, and still finish before midnight. Boo to the stinking yhah.**

* * *

><p>Al was in the middle of practicing remote transmutation when the Empress interrupted his lesson.<p>

He didn't even notice her approach, since he was so focused on creating a box in the area marked by the five knives about ten feet away. He vaguely noticed Rikui stiffening out of the corner of his eye, but other than that didn't waver in his focus. This time, this time for he sure. It had been a failure almost every other time he had tried, but he was sure to get it this time.

Let go of the alchemy. Let the _qi_ guide you, he reminded himself. This isn't a normal transmutation, you have to use the energy around you.

He took another deep breath, and then activated the array.

The circle he had his hands pressed to lit up bright blue, sparking energy everywhere… unfortunately there was no activity whatsoever in the array ten feet away.

He sighed, dropping his head and letting his hair fall in his face. No doubt Rikui would chime in with her encouragement about how he would get it next time just like the other three hundred times.

He appreciated what she was doing for him, he really did. His frustration had nothing to do with her, it had everything to do with him. He had been so excited when he went to Ed and Winry's wedding to tell them about how he could now sense _qi_. Ed had congratulated him, telling him with his arm around Winry's waist and a grin on his face that it would be no time until he had remote transmutation down.

No such luck.

Even with all the warnings that it would be hard, and continual insistence that it took most people years of study to be able to learn alkahestry, Al was still dissatisfied with the results. He had been working at it for nearly nine months now. If Ed had gotten Winry pregnant right when Al left instead of their wedding night, he would be an Uncle by now.

But he couldn't learn alkahestry in that amount of time. He had learned alchemy when he was four years old. Why could he not understand this?

He was about to urge Rikui for the chance to go again, when he realized that she wasn't even looking at him.

"Your Majesty, you honor us with your presence." She bowed perfectly at the waist, bringing her hands together and dipping her chin to her chest. Al hastened to his feet to copy the movement. However the Empress just waved her hand quickly and they straightened.

Al was surprised to see that she was only accompanied by one guard (and Xiao Mei of course). Usually she had a whole army of them following her everywhere she went. She was still wearing her Imperial robes, complete with massive crown, though.

"How are your lessons going, Ambassador?"

"They are… proceeding, Your Majesty, thank you for asking."

"You haven't gotten remote transmutation yet?"

"No I have not, Your Majesty."

"But Rikui tells me that you do read _qi_."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Her dark eyes looked at him as if she was considering something.

"Rikui."

"Yes, Your Majesty?" It was almost amazing to Al how she could bounce between such a stiff and formal demeanor to being playful so quickly.

"Have you explained Xionxi's Principle to him yet?"

Rikui flushed. "No, Your Majesty."

The Empress nodded. "Would you permit me? You are his teacher after all."

"Of course you may explain, Your Majesty. Your Majesty may do whatever she wishes."

Oddly enough, the Empress paused at her cousin's words. She stared at the ground, before raising her chin and nodding.

"Thank you, cousin. Ambassador, Xionxi's Principle states that the act of sensing _qi_ is no different than that of using it to transmute. Although I am not proficient in alchemy myself, I am familiar with the way it works. Unless I'm mistaken, you're trying to use _qi_ as some sort of directing force aren't you? You're trying to use the flow of the Dragon's Pulse to carry your transmutation to the distance."

"… Yeah, how did you know?"

She smiled, probably the first time Al had seen her smile since he had first arrived.

"Well, as an alchemist that's about the only way you would know how to do it. But if remote transmutation worked like that, I probably wouldn't have been much help during the fights with Father. I would have been doing alchemy just like everyone else in Amestris only transferring it. That wouldn't have worked against his methods."

He frowned. "But I thought you were supposed to use the _qi_ to direct the transmutation."

"Well you are, but you're not supposed to perform the transmutation and expect the _qi_ to carry it to where you want it to go. It doesn't work like that."

"Then how does it work?"

She came closer to him, bending down so that she was crouched over the dirt. In the space of maybe three seconds she had dropped five knives (Al didn't know where on earth they had come from but there they were) into a perfect pentagonal shape and drawing a likewise perfect circle and pentagram connecting them all.

She barely glanced up before throwing another set of five across the area so that they stuck out of a tree.

"You're not going to tell me that 'now you do it' are you?"

She cast him a single smile before returning to a serious expression.

"You aren't using the _qi_ to carry the transmutation from Point A to Point B, you use the flow of _qi_ to perform the transmutation at Point B. You use the two different areas as anchor points. This array," she tapped the one she was crouched over with a single, ringed finger, "allows you to access the flow of _qi_ that runs right to the other one. When you access the _qi_ that runs through that point, you harness it to change the potential of Point B."

"You lost me at harnessing the potential."

"Every object has the potential to change. It's part of matter, it's a part of energy. Things change. Nothing will stay the same forever."

"Sort of like All is One, One is All. We all die and become a part of something else which will then die and become a part of something else. A rock might become a part of me, and I might become part of an ant, and an ant might become a part of the grass."

"Sort of," she said, nodding her head – no small task with the crown she was wearing. "That tree isn't always going to be a tree of that exact shape or size. It will get bigger, it could decay, it could get cut down. It has the potential to be something else or take a different form. By using the anchor point of the five knives, you have the ability to change the flow of _qi_ around it, thus affecting its potential and changing it. Does that make sense?"

He winced. "I think so, but… I could use an example."

"Alright," she said, leaning backwards a little. He noticed that the skirts of her robe were getting dirty with the dust of the space they were in – about the only place in the palace that Al nor Rikui felt bad about using for alkahestry lessons/practice.

"Do you remember when we first met, when you first saw me use alkahestry."

"Of course." It was hard to forget something like that. She looked around, before lowering her voice, probably so her guard couldn't hear what she was saying. It probably would not do well for Xing to know some of the situations their Empress had gotten herself into.

"I blew a hole in train, releasing the coal dust into the air."

"I remember. But the train doesn't have a sense of _qi_."

"Wrong, actually. It was steal, and steal is made up of iron and carbon, both key components of the human body. You have no idea how much of it might have once been a part of some living thing. Everything has some sort of _qi_ signature. The mountains, the rock. Even if it's only had contact with life, it has a _qi_ signature. But that steel… forgive me for being metaphysical, but it wanted to be free. It had the potential to change like it did, to bow out. I used the _qi_ to change the shape, just like you would in an alchemic transmutation. Only instead of changing the direct composition, deconstructing and then reconstructing it, I used its _qi_ and the _qi_ around it to manipulate it."

"Okay, I think I've got it," Al said after a moment of silence while he processed what she said. "But… just to make sure, could you give an example? I mean I know you're busy but…"

The Empress blinked, then glanced back at her guard as if only now remembering that he was there. Then she turned a slight pink color and quickly stood up.

"I… I'm sorry, Ambassador, but I shouldn't…"

"But I really think I almost had it there, I just want to see."

The Empress glanced backwards at her guard once again, but he only stared forward, expressionless.

Then she bent down once again and touched her palm to the array.

Immediately both circles, the one on the ground and the tree, lit up brilliant blue. Al jogged over to the tree in time to see a likeness of Xiao Mei mold itself out of the bark. He grinned, before pulling the knives out of the tree and handing them back to her.

"Thank you for the demonstration."

"Of course," she said, smiling once again. "Now you try. You can watch and study as much as you want, but unless you actually try—"

"Your Highness!"

All three of them (Al had almost forgotten Rikui was even still there) turned at the voice. The guard stayed expressionless and facing Mei, though.

"Hai, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, we have been searching for you everywhere! You should not run off so."

"I informed Lien Ti that I was going to check up on the Ambassador's alkahestry lessons." Just like her cousin, Al had to be amazed at her skill to jump from a helpful instructor to formal dignitary once again so quickly.

"With all due respect to the Ambassador, Your Majesty, there are far more pressing matters to be taken care of than watching an Ambassador struggle to learn our art. There is the agreement with Xiongnu, and we have yet to make the quota for our payments to Gondappi. The Feng representative is coming in three days and—"

"I get the picture," the Empress snapped, shutting the man up. Almost immediately though, her shoulders slumped slightly. "I am sorry, Hai. You do your job well, and I should not lash out at you because the news you bring is unpleasant."

"You do not have to apologize to one as lowly as myself, Your Majesty," Hai said, bowing his head to her.

"My position is no excuse for my behavior. Please, inform me as we walk."

The man nodded, then fell into step slightly behind the Empress and they walked away. Al was left standing there, staring after them with his mouth almost hanging open. The guard followed behind them, leaving him and Rikui together again.

"Al? Do you want to try what the Empress suggested?"

"What? Oh. Right. Yes."

* * *

><p>Even though he knew he probably shouldn't actually be going to seek an audience with the Empress outside of court, especially not for something as trivial as this… but despite the way she had acted so aloof towards him the past months, he really felt like it was news she'd want to hear.<p>

He had done it. It had taken a couple of tries after she left, but he had done. And then he had done it again.

Both Al and Rikui were thrilled. For different reasons though. While glad was absolutely glad that he had learned how to do exactly what he had come here to learn… he had learned what he came here to learn. What with his experience with medical alchemy from trying to bring his mother back to life and what he had studied during the war in case Mustang's protection didn't prove to be enough, it had literally only taken Al the rest of the day to get a hold on being able to heal the cut that Rikui had given herself to see if he could heal. He was so exhilarated he felt like he was about ready to fly all the way home to Amestris.

Which was what he intended on doing.

Well, not flying. That would be impossible. But certainly going home.

He had learned what he wanted to learn. And while Xing was amazing and it was the experience of a lifetime, and an incredible one at that… he missed home. He was going to be and uncle in seven months, and he wanted to be there to help Ed and Winry out. They would need someone to watch the baby when they got too exhausted. Ed probably wouldn't know what to do with himself after all.

Rikui had looked like he had just slapped her when he told her, and she had gapped for a while before asking if he was sure while he just confirmed it.

"Are you ever going to come back?" she had asked and he had to confess that he didn't quite know. He had once had hoped to travel all of the East and explore and learn about everything out there. But after the war the only people as unpopular east of Xing as the Xingese were Amestrians. So there went that plan. But since he was technically Ambassador, he would probably be showing up again.

Now to tell the Empress. He wanted to thank her for her hospitality, and most of all thank her for explaining everything to him yesterday. There was no way he ever would have thought about it like that without her help. Without her he probably would have struggled with remote transmutation for another nine months.

As he approached her door, however, he was told that she wasn't in her chambers. But court wasn't in session, so she couldn't be in the throne room. He supposed she could be in her own bedroom, but that wasn't like the Empress at all. She usually woke up before the sun. It was almost noon. And she didn't take naps.

He was surprised however, after giving up on the proposition of going to see her in favor of taking a walk in the gardens, to find her among some flowers he honestly did not know the name of. They were pink.

He opened his mouth to greet her, when he realized she talking to her small panda cat. Well if there was something he had learned in his brief moments in her actual presence it was that while interrupting her was a capital offence, interrupting a conversation she was having with Xiao Mei was almost crime enough to have you sewn into a sack with a rabid dog and thrown in the river.

Not something he enjoyed doing on his days off.

So he stayed silent, disappearing behind a bush of imported roses.

"—and they all want answers but I just don't have them… Xiao Mei I don't know what I'm supposed to do. There's no way to make the quota for Gondappi. We just can't get that much to them that fast, and they're going to be furious once we don't. I knew I should have tried to bargain more to get those prisoners back, but the people were already furious they had been left there so long, I had to get them back. And now we're stuck with this debt, and we never quite paid off the ones from the war.

"Meanwhile, Drachman businessmen are staring us down like the next bear they need to take down to be declared warriors. They're trying to undercut our markets, and right now it's working. There aren't enough jobs to go around. And not enough money either. But I can't let us go bankrupt… But I don't know what to do…"

Al swallowed. He was no supposed to be overhearing this conversation. This was not stuff he was supposed to know.

"And I'm pretty sure the Feng's are out to kill me while they're here at the palace, which means another two weeks of not bathing and wearing that awful perfume I hate to cover up the smell. As if I need one more thing to go wrong and annoy me."

He recognized the slight chitter of Xiao Mei's incomprehensible response. Well, incomprehensible to any normal human. Mei and the panda has a special connection.

"Except I can't, Xiao Mei. I just… can't. And I don't know how I'm supposed to. And of course on top of all of this, I'm supposed to be hosting another 'let's make Xing do whatever we want them to because they're too defenseless and poor party—"

Al stuffed his fingers in his ears and decidedly turned away. This was something for Xiao Mei's ears alone, and he would respect that.

He couldn't keep the words she had already spoken out of his ears though.


	7. Chapter 7

**Merry Christmas everyone! Unless you don't celebrate Christmas, in that case, HAPPY DECEMBER 25TH!**

* * *

><p>"She's already starting to show, I'm so excited!" Ed continued to ramble, as he had been for the past twenty minutes or so. If Al was being honest, he was only half paying attention. It wasn't that hard when Ed got like this. He imagined this was what Colonel Mustang had felt like all the time when Colonel Hughes would call him. The only responses that were really necessary were "That's great!" and "Of course." Not only were those the only two needed responses, but they were more or less interchangeable, so he could even just chose one or the other every time without really paying attention to what was being told to him.<p>

"That's great."

"I'm just not sure how things are going to go from here. She hasn't really gotten very sick even though a lot of people told us that she would be. She could get a lot sicker later, or maybe she's just not going to get sick. Someone told us that that was possible. Some women just don't get really sick when they're pregnant. The woman who told us that also said that sometimes it just depends on the kid, some will cause more sickness than others."

"Of course."

"I'm going to be there for her, no matter what though. Nothing is going to keep me away from my baby. He's going to be the most perfect thing to ever grace this planet!"

"Of course."

"She did also warn that sometimes when you're not quite getting as sick there might be something wrong with the baby. I mean, he is going to be perfect, but it might be a bit harder you know. Like he might be born super early or super late."

"That's great."

There was a pause during which Al hurriedly had to recall exactly what he had just said.

"Al… did you just say that it's great that your first nephew is going to be born early and potentialy run into health issues?"

"… uh…"

"Are you even listening to me?"

Al winced. "To be fair Ed, can you really blame me?"

"Well, no not really," he had to admit, after another pause filled with static over the phone. The connection between Xing and Amestris wasn't the best. It was a near miracle they were able to talk on the phone at all. "But it's more than that. You're distracted. What is it?"

"What? Oh, it's nothing."

"No, it's not. You've been over the moon to be an Uncle. Now you're hardly paying attention. What's wrong? Is this about coming home?"

Well, Al couldn't really deny that it was. Not so much about coming home itself, he was more than excited to do that. It was more leaving knowing what he knew that bothered him. He thought he had always sort of known that the Empress wasn't quite happy. But he had never really known the full extent of the problem. And he wasn't sure if he would be able to return home in good conscious with the knowledge weighing on him. He wished there was something he could do to help, but he knew she wouldn't want it.

"_I don't remember asking for your help."_

"_You can't possibly be that naïve! These guys show no mercy to anyone who is of no use to them. You have to get out of here, quickly!"_

At least that time it had been as simple as picking her up and running away. So perhaps not quite that simple seeing as he had to keep her in his chest plate for almost an entire day, but he was sure the actions would not be appreciated if duplicated. He almost had to smile at the thought of him just bursting into the throne room in the middle of a meeting with Drachman dignitaries, picking her up, and running away. That would certainly go over magnificently.

"Al? Hey, you still listening?"

"What? Oh… I'm sorry Brother. I guess I just… there's just a bit of a problem going on here that I don't really want to leave behind without resolving at least a bit."

"So go resolve it," Ed said simply.

Al's jaw dropped. "What… it's not that simple, Ed."

"Why not?"

Al opened his mouth to respond, before closing it. "Well… they… she… I… I don't really know." He frowned before smirking. "It's not actually that simple is it?"

"We're just simple people, Al." The axiom was so reminiscent of Resembool that he couldn't help but smile. Back in the green fields, everything seemed so much clearer. Everything seemed black and white, with maybe a shade of grey in between them. Here there seemed to be a hundred or more shades of grey to every statement.

"I miss Resembool."

"Yeah," Ed said, and the sigh even managed to get picked up through the static. "Things really are just… if there's a problem, fix it. I don't know, maybe I've been here too long. I'm not in touch with all the politics and crap… Sorry, I'm not of much help."

"No, actually that was completely helpful," he said quickly. "I need to resolve the problem. That's it."

"I'm happy I can help. Just go ahead and fix it before you come home. I don't want you to be distracted and thinking about it."

"Of course."

"See you in three days, Al." Al couldn't help but smiling into the phone, his eyes softening.

"See you in three days, Ed."

* * *

><p>He tried to find some way to talk with her that very day, but her guards wouldn't let him in to talk with her at all. Talking to her during court was pretty much not even a consideration. He knew that she would have trouble accepting his help at all, there was no way that she would accept it if he offered it in front of the entire court.<p>

He considered asking for a private audience after the court meeting, but as soon court was dismissed Fei grabbed him by the arm and dragged him all the way to a small going away party for both him and Rikui. She was returning to the Change providence since she was done with teaching him.

"I'll be glad to escape all the politics though," she confessed as they talked on a pair of cushions around the foot of a table. Whereas a 'going away party' in Amestris might constitute balloons and music and streamers and probably something alchoholic, instead Al was treated to a small gathering of well-wishers and friends that Al had made. Well, there was also something alcoholic, but Al was avoiding that.

"But you're the clan leader's daughter, won't you be leaving the politics here for more back home?"

"I won't be able to escape it entirely, no," she said as she shrugged. She however had chosen to indulge in the alcohol, although she had only had one maybe two drinks. "But it's not as bad back home as it is here. At least there not every person around me is there for the politics or to serve the politicians. There are some people with real heads on their shoulders."

"I didn't know that everyone here had fake heads. Everything makes more sense now! Why couldn't you have told me that when I first came here?" She laughed, making Al grin. He loved when he was able to make people laugh, especially Rikui.

"Okay, so I supposed there are a few people here with real heads. Maybe one. Or two. There's you. Fei…" They looked over to the Xingese noble who was chatting amiably to one of his cousins about Amestrian traditions of handshakes. "He's got a real head, it's just empty."

"Hey! He's a good friend."

"He is, I'm not saying that. He's just… missing a few marbles."

"Just because he likes Amestrian customs, he's crazy?"

"Well… no, that's not what I… I didn't mean to offend you, Al… He just gets—"

"It's alright, I get what you mean," he said quickly. She was just trying to make a joke, she didn't really mean anything hurtful towards one of the few people who had readily accepted Al's friendship. All the same… moving past the topic was probably the wisest move. "What about the Empress?"

"… what about the Empress?" she said cautiously.

"I think she has a real head."

Rikui pursed her lips. Then she dropped her drink on the table next to them, and put her hand on Al's knee.

"Al… I know you and my cousin were friends when she first came to Amestris. We were friends too; she was my absolute favorite cousin. But she's not that cousin anymore. She's the Empress, and she's become that role so fully I'm not even sure that part of my cousin that I loved even exists anymore. I find it hard to believe it could be any different from the Mei Chang you knew in Amestris."

So perhaps the subject change was not the best path to take.

"… Oh."

"I'm sorry to say it…"

"No, no, it's quite alright. You're free to your opinions."

That didn't mean he had to agree.

And if she was right… well… that would make leaving Xing that much easier.

* * *

><p>"Hai, are there any more requests today?"<p>

"No, Your Majesty. Do you wish to retire?"

"As long as there are no more requests you wish to bring before me, yes." She locked eyes with the rest of the room, seeming to stare each one of them down. Al felt his stomach lurch. He was leaving tomorrow, so if there was ever a chance for him to talk to her, it was now. He opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to come out. He couldn't miss this chance.

"Very well, you are all dismissed."

He swore in his head. It seemed this was one of the days when the rest of the court would file out under her watchful gaze.

He had missed his chance to ask for a private audience, but… instead of filing out, Al ducked behind the stands where the courtiers would usually sit during court meetings.

As soon as everyone was gone, he slunk out to see the stands to see her slumped slightly in her throne.

"Empress."

"Ambassador," she said, sounding alarmed. She looked shocked. Or at least she did for a few seconds before she carefully and quickly wiped the emotion from her face. "You should not be here, court was dismissed."

"I know," he said. "But… I wanted to speak with you alone at least once before I leave."

"Of course," she said, nodding slightly. How she managed to do so with that crown on her head, he had no idea. He had heard from Rikui herself that it was so massive that she couldn't even wear the thing by itself. It required a whole second apparatus hidden underneath her hair to be able to sit right on her head. The neck muscles required were the same, though.

"You're taking the train?"

"Yes."

"Good. Your journey should be relatively comfortable."

"More comfortable than walking, I suppose."

She gave him a slight smile. "Much. I hope your stay was nice. I am glad that you managed to learn everything you wanted to."

"I wanted to thank you for that, actually. I never would have thought about remote transmutation like that without your prompting."

She smiled again, though this time it seemed much more genuine. "I was happy to be of assistance. Rikui may be a proficient alkhestrist but she doesn't understand alchemy at all, and therefore has a harder time understanding the way you think. It is only to be expected."

Al nodded, for lack of a better way to respond to that. 'That's great' would not pass here, though he supposed that 'of course' might work.

"All the same, thank you."

Now it was her turn to nod. Al could sense the conversation coming to an end, even though he hadn't even broached the topic he truly wanted to discuss.

"Well, I hope your trip goes well—"

"Wait."

She raised a single eyebrow.

"Empress…" He took a deep breath, before softening his voice. "Mei."

That one word caused her entire back to stiffen.

"Ambassador, do not be so forward—"

"If you will forgive me, Your Majesty, that's going to be the least of my forwardness in this conversation. And you can ignore me, or send me away if you want. But I cannot leave this country in good conscious until we've talked about this."

Although her back was still stiff as a board, her face fell completely blank.

"Guards. Leave us."

"But Your Majesty—"

"Leave. Remain outside. I am not defenseless. You too, Feyan." The guard that stood behind her almost every waking moment stiffened.

"Your Majesty—"

"I said," she snapped, "remain outside."

Feyan stood stock still for the space of maybe ten seconds, obviously debating whether to follow his Empress's orders or to put her safety above her wishes. He must have decided on the former however, because he joined the small troop of guards that left the throne room. He was however the prize winner of the most fearsome glare leveled Al's direction.

"Ambassador, I don't know what you're planning on discussing with me as to be so forward as to call me by my first name, but—"

"You're not happy."

She blinked. Al took her momentary confusion as a chance to move closer. Just enough so he didn't feel like he was talking to her from across the room.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not happy, Mei. In fact, you're miserable. I can see it. Not just about Gondappai or Xiao Mei being sick…" Just about the only thing that would separate the panda from her owners. "You are miserable as Empress."

"I didn't become Empress because it's a fun job, Ambassador. I sought to become Empress to help Xing. To help my clan, to help my family. In short to help others. It was a selfless act, my own… happiness is inconsequential in this situation."

"No it's not. Mei… it's great that you want to help your clan and your family. And you've done that. But… if you're hating every moment of it, is it really worth it?"

"Of course it is," she shot back instantly.

Al bit his lip. This was not the best way to go about it. He understood the fact that she was being selfless and trying to help other people, but if she was so miserable she was hating every moment she spent as Empress, would she really be able to help anyone? Perhaps… a more blunt approach?

"Ambassador, really it's none of your concern."

He gaped at her. "None of my concern? Of course it's of my concern, because you're of my concern."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm really not. As an Ambassador, your concern is with Xing, not me."

"I overheard you." It was her turn to gape. The comment was probably such an unexpected comeback to her statement she had no idea how to react.

"What?"

"I overheard you the other day in the gardens. I know you're stressed. And you're almost hitting a breaking point."

The stiff board back was back.

"This isn't something that's recent, or just being brought on. In fact, I'd say it's been going on since you became Empress. And I really don't blame you, I mean one of the first things that happened after you became Empress was the war and that would be horrible for any ruler to have to deal with."

"I don't need your sympathy, Ambass—"

"But it's more than that, isn't it? It's not just everything that's been going on, you… you need someone to rely on."

"I most certainly do not—"

"That's not a bad thing. You're close to falling apart at the seams. If you don't stop and slow down…"

"I don't need help—"

"It's okay to rely on someone. It's even healthy in fact. I know I can't convince Gondappai to forgive all the debts, but there's got to be something I can do to help. Maybe talk to someone—"

"I don't need your help!" She practically screamed at him, leaning forward and pounding her hands on the arms of the chair.

"… I was just trying to—"

"NO! I DON'T! I am the leader of Xing; I AM EMPRESS!"

Al stood there, not saying a word. He felt like he had been punched in the gut or worse. There was a sick feeling in his stomach and he was fairly sure it had nothing to do with any of the food he had been eating.

"Mei…"

"I don't need your help," she repeated, but this time her voice was weak and vulnerable. "Just please… please go."

He didn't. In fact, he did the complete opposite. If she hadn't sent the guards away, they might have killed him on the spot for moving within five feet of their Empress. But he went far closer to her than that, moving until he was kneeling directly in front of her. She did her best to straighten and look at him down her nose, but he was so much taller than her that even kneeling she was only a head taller than him.

His fingers gently probed behind her ears until he unhooked the contraption that held the elaborate crown in place. It was sure to be the upmost heresy to have a non-royal, a commoner, and a foreigner to boot, touch the Royal Crown of Xing, but he did, lifting it off her head and the setting it _on the ground_.

Then, because he already seemed destined to break every social regulation followed in this strange country, he pulled the Empress of Xing, Princess of the Chang clan, but more importantly, Mei into his arms.

She was stiff and stunned, as if she had never received comfort like this.

Al realized belatedly that she might not have ever. From her harsh family and poor circumstances to Amestris, it was conceivable that she never had had someone to pull her close and tell her that it was alright. She must have certainly never encountered the experience after her ascension to the throne.

Then her arms wrapped around his torso, and Al felt her hands ball in the fabric of his long tunic.

The Empress did not cry that night. She most certainly did not sob into an Amestrian's shoulder, holding onto him for all the comfort she could possibly find in his strong embrace. The Empress was an Imperial ruler, strong and powerful.

Mei Chang did, though.

And for the first time since setting foot in this infernal country, with this Xingese girl in his arms, Al felt like things were finally right once again.


	8. Chapter 8

**My apology for the last chapter being so late. Sorry. But hey! Two chapters within one week! Hope you all had a great Christmas (thanks to everyone who reviewed especially with a Merry Christmas) and Happy New Year!**

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><p>He waited until the sobs gently petered out before kissing her gently on the head and lifting her up in his arms, bridal style. He carried her halfway down the hall before she stopped him.<p>

"No… don't take me out there, please Al… they can't see me like this. They _can't_."

"They won't," he promised. "I won't ever let anyone else see you like this." And he meant it. Ever since that moment under Central when he had scooped the girl up in his arms to carry her away from the fighting to safety, he had felt protective of her. He knew that he had to protect her no matter what. This only made that feeling stronger than it ever had been before.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, still shuddering slightly.

"It's okay Mei. It's okay."

It was a challenge getting the Empress past her guards and to her room. She showed him a secret passageway that supposedly only the Emperor/Empress themselves knew about that led either directly to the Imperial room or to the river that separated the palace from the forest of the mountains behind it. He had to transmute a door to actually get into her room since it was locked and Mei was nodding off in his arms, but the majority of her guards were still outside the throne room, not guarding her bedroom.

It was a bit of challenge trying to get her to let go of him when he reached her bed, but after about three minutes and finally waking her up, she let go of his tunic and curled up in the lavish blankets and pillows.

"Don't leave me," she muttered when he stood up. "Please…"

"I'll be right here when you wake up," he promised gently. "I'm not going to leave you Mei. Not ever. Now shhh. Go to sleep, Mei."

She fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Mei felt… different when she woke up. Ever since the moment she had been named heir to her father's throne she had been scared for her life. Every moment, awake or asleep, she knew that she was in danger of being assassinated. That had never been a new threat, but it had been a threat that had increased seven fold since her ascension.<p>

For the first time since that moment… she felt safe.

She didn't feel like she needed to be alert for the hundreds of opportunities someone would have to kill her. She didn't feel like she had the hopes of her entire clan squared directly on her shoulders. She didn't feel like she was solely responsible for the millions of people in her country. She didn't feel like there were millions of people with their eyes on her, waiting for her to fail.

She felt _safe_.

She didn't want to lose that feeling. She didn't want to open her eyes, not for anything.

Except…

"Mei?"

So open her eyes she did.

Her first thought was that it was some sort of vision. Perhaps she had died. That image of a handsome, caring man could only be divine. The gold caring eyes and matching hair had to support that. Then as the sleep continued to recede and Mei regained control of her mental faculties, she realized who it was at her bedside.

With that realization came the memory of the night before.

Mei almost wanted to hide her face under her many blankets after remembering. How could she allow him to see her so weak? She had dissolved into a mess of emotions and weakness in from him! How could she expect to stay strong for her people if she was falling apart at the slightest prompting from an Amestrian?

Then she realized something else. She probed behind her ears.

"Where's my crown? Where is it!"

She was about ready to go into a full panic, when Al directed her attention to her bedside table, where it was gently resting, along with the apparatus she wore to keep it in place.

"You should not have touched my crown, Ambassador," she said, trying to control her breathing. "That is an ancient, sacred relic of the Xingese royalty—"

"Mei," he said, cutting her off, a capital offence, not the mention the fact that he used her first name. "I don't care."

She jerked back slightly.

"How could you say something—"

"I. Don't. Care." His voice was very measured and calm. "I don't care, Mei. I care about the fact that from the moment I came to this country, the one time you've called me by my name, you were begging me not to let your own protectors see you. I care about the fact that I haven't even seen or heard about you taking a bath because you're worried that someone's going to try to take the throne from you in the meantime. I care about the fact that the person I was looking forward to seeing the most in Xing, seems to have been devoured by this ancient piece of metal and jewels that I'm not even supposed to touch. I care about _you_, Mei."

She stared at him, jaw slightly lax.

"Now, please, tell me what's going on. You may think you can handle this on your own, and maybe you can. But you don't have to. So please… let me help."

He reached out to grab her hand and she looked away.

"Let me help."

She couldn't answer.

He intertwined his fingers with hers. "Please."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"You don't understand Al. You just can't."

"I understand being alone Mei. I understand it a lot better than you think. I spent half of four years all alone. Four years' worth of nights alone. No matter how much Ed tried to sympathize, he couldn't understand what it was like. He didn't know how isolated I felt all the time in that armor. Even during the day, everyone else could touch, feel each other, smell each other, enjoy food together. I was still alone. Everyone who thought that it was a blessing, or an advantage… the price wasn't just not feeling. It wasn't just peace. The price was feeling alone all the time."

"But Al… I can't. It's not admitting it to you it… admitting it to myself… I can't. If I do, then I'm only what everyone says I am."

"Wonderful? Strong? Beautiful? Kind? Caring?"

"Weak. Pathetic. Incompetent."

"Amazing."

"Al…"

"Amazing." He moved so that he was sitting next to her on the bed. She looked directly away from him, but he only pulled her close so that she was being held in his tight embrace.

"Al…"

"Let me help you, Mei. Please."

"Al…"

"Please."

"I…"

"Let me help you."

"I don't want to be Empress." It was said quickly, so quickly Al almost wasn't sure he had heard it.

"… what?"

She looked away and closed her eyes, as if she was admitting a terrible secret. Which she was.

"I don't want to be Empress. I hate it. I_ hate_ it. I thought I would be able to handle it, but I can't. It's horrible. I know that I'm going to make a mistake and I'm going to let everyone down. I'm so weak and stupid. I can't do this, Al, I can't. Ling should have gotten the stone first, anything, anyone but me. I'm going to ruin this country, I'm going to ruin everything. Centuries of tradition are going to be ruined because they let a stupid little girl onto the throne." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears when she looked at him, and then glared at the crown on the table.

"I _hate_ that thing. I hate it."

"Mei…"

"Call me weak, Al. Call me pathetic. I can't take the pressure. I can't."

"But you're not weak, Mei. You're not pathetic. You're human," he said, rubbing her arms comfortingly. "You're only human."

"I'm supposed to be the Daughter of the Morning, Al. I can't be just human."

"But you are. No one person can take on all of this responsibility by themselves. Especially not wearing that thing all day. You have to lean on people."

"How can I? The Elders all hate me, my siblings would all be more than happy to stab a knife in my back, and I'm losing the support of the rich with all the moves I've been making favoring the poor."

"You can trust Ling," Al suggested. "The Yaos have many powerful friends among the clans."

"He's the one I beat for the throne the most! I can't trust him!"

"I've talked with him though. He's perfectly happy with his position in the Yao clan right now. Your decree never said who the mother of your heir from the Yao clan had to be… he married the love of his life and they're happy. He wouldn't have been able to do that if he had become Emperor and had to marry 50 wives."

She didn't respond, so Al continued. "And Prime Minister Mustang. You saved Lieutenant Hawkeye's life; he'd give you all the international support you need. They wouldn't be able to displace an Empress that's close personal friends with the leader of a very powerful nation."

"Two supporters…"

"Ling could bring in more. And many of the courtiers would want to be friends with someone who is close to powerful friends… that's you."

She nodded slowly.

"And… you have me."

"You?"

"Me," he repeated. "I'll always be here for you Mei. Whether you need me to do what I can in court or… just as a friend."

"I could use a friend…" She said after a few moments of silence. Al smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.

"I can do that. I can do that, Mei."

* * *

><p>"Hey Ed…"<p>

"Al! Is something wrong? Why are you calling? And at this hour. Don't you need to get some sleep for the train ride tomorrow? I don't want you to come back and be too exhausted to be of any use!"

"Actually, Brother…" Al glanced around him before leaning forward slightly so that he could see the Empress walking into the throne room, shoulders back and head held high. No one ever would have been able to guess the events of last night looking at her now. She stood as tall and proud as ever.

The image of her though, the feeling of her crying in his arms, the sound of her sobs and pleads… they were permanently burned into his memory.

"I can't come home."

"What?"

"Something came up. I… I need to stay here in Xing."

"But… you said you were ready to leave, that you wanted to come home."

"I know. But… I really need to stay. The Empress needs me to do something for her and I have to do it."

"You're an Amestrian citizen, Al, the beansprout can't tell you what to do."

"I know, Ed. But I really need to do this. I'm sorry. I really am. But I have to stay."

"You'll be coming back before Winry has the baby though, won't you?" Winry was about three months pregnant, so she should be having the baby in six months, maybe less if he was premature like Ed was afraid he would be. Al bit his lip.

"I should be."

"Good, because that's something you can't afford to miss. Don't forget to call, alright?"

"Of course."

"Alright. Bye Al."

"Goodbye Brother." Ed hung up on the other end and Al was left listening to a dial tone before hanging up the phone himself and recalling. He told the operator who he wanted to talk to and waited patiently as his call was connected.

"Hello?"

"Ling. I need you to come down to the Capitol. I need a few favors."


End file.
